12/05/2013

International Volunteer Day: Hard at Work in Ecuador

Today on International Volunteer Day we celebrate our wonderfully talented and dedicated volunteers!

Since 1969, medical volunteers have donated their time to help children and adults receive the treatment they desperately need. Our volunteer team trips have a critical role in providing surgeries in locations where the caseload is overwhelming, teaching and improving the quality of health care, and evaluating new sites. We thank each one of our volunteers today and every day for the talent and time they give to help transform lives.

Speaking of volunteers, our volunteer surgical team arrived in Ecuador this week and has quickly begun long days of surgery in Bahía de Caráquez, a coastal city about 175 miles north of Guayaquil, where ReSurge has a Surgical Outreach Center directed by Dr. Jorge Palacios.

The team in front of the "Rostros Felices" bus

The medical team includes surgeon Tom Davenport, recovery room nurse Sue Fossum, chief anesthesiologist George Gregory, anesthesiologist Duke McMillan and recovery room nurse Maria Pedersen. They are joined by Sheila Wolfson, the trip supporter and coordinator.

The team is joining up with Fundacion Rostros Felices (Happy Faces Foundation), which Jorge founded and calls the “daughter of ReSurge.” The foundation provides reconstructive plastic surgery for local children with clefts. The ReSurge team is helping with surgeries and teaching plastic surgery residents from the residency program Jorge founded to increase the pool of local plastic surgeons devoted to helping the poor in their own communities.

The team has kept busy, working long hours each day teaching and performing surgeries mostly on children with clefts. Stay tuned for more updates from the team!